With Detroit escaping out of London with a 22-21 win over Atlanta, they stand on top of the NFC North in sole possession of first place. The Green Bay Packers went to the Superdome on Sunday Night and found that there was truth to what folks have been saying for some time now: “The Saints are a different team at home.” The sleeping giant that was the Saints’ offense, woke up and ran 44 points against a vulnerable Green Bay defense for the win. And over in Foxboro . . . the Chicago Bears continue to unravel as they had no answer for Tom Brady and the Patriots, losing 51-23.

This leaves the Minnesota Vikings who after beating the Bucs in Tampa last week in overtime, are the only NFC North team scheduled to play this week.

The Minnesota Vikings play host to the Washington Redskins this week. As of now, Vegas has no line on the game and the reason for this, is quite obvious.

The Washington Redskins expect their starting quarterback Robert Griffin III to start what would be his third game of the season. RG3 has become somewhat of a lightning rod of controversy within the Washington Redskins organization. The Redskins have gambled their future on an explosive player who has a hard time staying healthy. In his absence, Redskins saw the rise and fall of back-up Kirk Cousins and they also witnessed their third string quarterback, Colt McCoy under center. McCoy is coming off an emotional win over the Cowboys on Monday Night Football and for what it’s worth, his two game stat sheet looks better than RG3’s. . .

For all the talent on this Redskins offense, one thing is certain: Somebody, anybody – needs to take the reigns of the quarterback position.

The Vikings needed over-time and a “strip and score” touchdown courtesy of rookie linebacker Anthony Barr, to beat the lowly Tampa Bay Bucs last week – yet with a win this week, they can move to third place in the North and shove the Chicago Bears into the basement, for the time being.

The Vikings defense is only allowing 212 yards a game through the air and it will be tested by the wide receiver / tight end talents that the Redskins have. Washington’s pass defense is just as good as the Vikings, the only difference is, the lack of talent on the Vikings roster. Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater hasn’t been able to stretch the field and in the five games he has played, he has only thrown two touchdown passes.

Truth is, if the Redskins decide to give RG3 another week to recover, they won’t miss a beat with McCoy. There is too much talent on this offense for the Vikings to slow them down for four quarters. The Redskins defense had a lot of success blitzing a good offensive line and quarterback on Monday Night against Dallas and Tony Romo – expect more of the same to throw the rookie quarterback Bridgewater into fits early.

October 27th’s Monday Night Football game was more than a close contest which involved one of the games greatest rivalries. It was more than the 6-1 Cowboys playing host to an underwhelming Redskins team. And it was more than a 3rd string quarterback starting against “America’s Team,” – or was it? The Redskins third string quarterback Colt McCoy received the start due to the benching of back-up Kirk Cousins in the previous week, who was keeping the seat warm until Robert Griffin III returned from injury. McCoy hadn’t started a game in 3 years but McCoy is a different breed of “third string quarterback.” Colt McCoy was once the pride of the state of Texas. He was selected to Texas’ All-State first team as a high school football player and he who found his way to the University of Texas where his legend had been cemented. Before McCoy finished his collegiate career at Texas, he accounted for over 30 of the school’s passing and total offensive records. He also set NCAA records which included “highest completion percentage in a season (76.7%)” and tied the record for “most touchdown passes thrown by a freshman (29).” The 2010 BCS National Championship game was supposed to be the storybook ending to his collegiate career, but things went sour quickly. McCoy sustained a shoulder injury early in the game, forcing him to watch his team lose to Alabama 37-21. Colt was dealt a pretty raw deal when entering the draft as NFL pundits questioned his arm strength, size and just how healthy he would be come draft time. For all the talk that associates quarterbacks with wins – a kid who was seemingly allergic to losing, was about to get the short end of the stick. Colt found himself drafted in the third round by the Cleveland Browns. For a kid who had known nothing but success at a prestigious university he was in for a rude awakening in Cleveland. McCoy had some flashes, but mostly struggled while in Cleveland as it was a team lacking much talent or much of an identity. While at Cleveland, McCoy’s completion percentage was below 60% and had a quarterback rating of 74%. This was a far cry from what the world remembered out of the two time Heisman Trophy candidate. in 2013 the Browns traded McCoy to San Francisco where McCoy recorded one pass, for one completion, for 13 yards. That brings us to Monday Night. For a kid who’s glory days of playing high school and college football in the state of Texas — playing in prime time, against the Dallas Cowboys – this was going to be the biggest moment in his professional career. The Redskins (who entered the game as a nine point underdog ) put up a fight most didnt think they would muster. Colt McCoy at times looked a bit flustered and did throw a poor interception in the first half, but by Halftime the Redskins were only down. 7-3. The second half showed the Colt McCoy of old. The Colt McCoy that ruled the state of Texas. McCoy put his head down and ran a gutsy 7 yard touchdown to put his team up 17-10 in the fourth quarter. He was greeted with excitement by his fellow teammates in the end zone who seemed happier than he was about the score. Moments after the dramatic run, McCoy’s jubilation may have turned to nerves as he played off the moment with a poker-face on the sideline. When the game went into overtime, McCoy outdid the showing of “grit” on his run, but escaping a Dallas pass rush and scrambling to the left. While on the run, McCoy spotted tight end Jordan Reed and directed him to run into a fade route. What resulted from that, was a beautiful touch pass from McCoy received by Reed who showed off his acrobatic like balance along the sidelines to make the catch. In short, McCoy was able to put the Redskins in position for the game winning field goal. Sure, he had to wait and see his defense do their job and stop Dallas from scoring any points on their next drive – but a win is a win, and for Colt McCoy it felt as good as a winning touchdown pass in the final play of the game. With Robert Griffin III rumored to return next week, maybe this will be the end of McCoy’s story. Then again, he is backing up a quarterback who, for all things considered, is injury prone – so maybe all is not over for McCoy. In two games, McCoy has completed 85% of his passes for an average of 10 yards a clip. No need to draw up a quarterback controversy – RG3 is the Redskins’ man, but this is Colt McCoy’s moment. G.W. Gras twitter @GeeSteelio

The Detroit Lions beat the Saints in last week’s contest thanks to a Matthew Stafford touchdown pass to Corey Fuller, late in the fourth quarter. Without Calvin Johnson in the lineup, Stafford zoned in on Golden Tate for much of the game. Tate was targeted 13 times, came up with 10 receptions, 154 yards and a touchdown.

This week the Lions travel into Atlanta to face a team in the Falcons that is desperately looking for answers. Atlanta is on a four game losing streak and now facing one of NFL’s premier defensive units. Detroit’s defensive unit is only allowing 73 rushing yards a game and are giving up 15 points a game – the Falcons’ defense gives up nearly double that amount.

The Detroit Lions front line is surely going to put pressure on a Falcons offensive line which has given up 15 sacks this season. Matt Ryan and this Atlanta offense will have their hands full in what looks like another “can’t win” situation. Atlanta poses the same futile threat that the Saints did to the Lions, and the Lions barely escaped that game with a “W” so the Lions, once again enter the game as the clearly better team, but can they show that?

The Vikings had a different kind of luck than that which shone over the Lions in the waning seconds of their contest with the Bills. The Vikes were already heading into last week’s contest as a fragile underdog. They put up a great fight against Buffalo but gave up a touchdown to wide receiver Sammy Watkins with one meaningless second left on the game clock. If there was ever a time to play the Tampa Bay Bucs, it’s now.

Tampa Bay has one win thus far, and has suffered to blow out losses to Atlanta and Baltimore along the way. Although their record is 1-5, they still have a chance in their division because the NFC South is flat out awful this season. Tampa Bay has gives up the most points per game and the most yards in the air – lucky for them, the Vikings only pass the ball at around 180 yards per game.

In their seven games played, Minnesota has finished with a single digit score twice and has only scored more than twenty points once. Most expected this team to be a work in progress – but not an all out struggle. There is nothing exciting, sexy or riveting about this contest unless you’re a die-hard fan of either team and you continually tell yourself “it’s still early in the season, we can turn things around.”

After the Bears’ 27-14 home loss to Miami, Brandon Marshall summed up his team’s efforts in one word: “Unacceptable.” Keep in mind that was the one word he used to explain his frustration to the media, but in the locker room after the game – Marshall was heard screaming a few choice words directed at his teammates.

It would appear that this team lacks leadership and discipline on both sides of the ball. The talent is there, but the performances aren’t.

At the center of it all, of course, is quarterback Jay Cutler. Many thought that the gunslinger days of Cutler were behind him, under coach Marc Trestman – but alas, Cutler’s carelessness has resulted in 7 interceptions and 3 lost fumbles. It’s hard to believe that with the talent this team has on offense, the Bears are only averaging 22.4 points per game.

While the leadership and discipline of the Bears are in question, this week they square off against a franchise built off of leadership and discipline in the New England Patriots. Quarterback Tom Brady leads a balanced New England attack in Foxboro this weekend which is averaging 26.7 points a game and although it’s been documented that Brady has lost some zip in his throw, there is no doubt he still understands the in’s and out’s of his offense better than most. Expect Brady to expose the vulnerability of the Bears middle zone with slants and seam routes attacking the hash-marks.

Rookie Kyle Fuller is day to day after injuring his hand and suffering from a hip pointer against Miami, so even if he does play, the NFL’s defensive rookie of the month of September, surely won’t be at 100%. The Bears can’t continue to sleep walk, week-to-week, especially not against the Pats this Sunday.

Andrew Luck, Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers have been names mentioned this season as early MVP favorites, but it has been Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers who is playing nearly flawless in the last 4 weeks. Rodgers has one interception tied to his name this season and has 18 touchdown passes (1 more than Rivers, 1 less than Luck and Manning). What’s made this offense even more impressive is emergence of rookie wideout Davante Adams. The Fresno State receiver has become more of a fixture in the last two weeks and it seems Rodgers has already grown comfortable with him. With Cobb being the legitimate vertical threat and Jordy Nelson off to a fantastic season – there is no reason to believe that this offense will slow down anytime soon.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees remembers when things were that easy in New Orleans.

Drew Brees and the Saints are leading the pack as one of the more disappointing teams of 2014. Funny thing about this Saints team is that when they are moving the ball, they seem to settle for field goals. Drew Brees for the first time in his career actually looks confused by defenses and has lost his moxy that’s kept things “A Geaux” in New Orleans. Optimistically thinking, tight end Jimmy Graham should be healthier this week and help to open things up for this New Orleans offense.

The Green Bay defense is still a question-mark, and they’ve had the advantage of playing underwhelming offenses for the most part. The Saints offense looks bad to the standards of many because they were expected to resemble an offense like Denver’s. Truth is, they are scoring just under 26 points a game, which isn’t too shabby at tall and the Saints have a home field advantage that’s as good as anyone’s in any sport. This is a must win for the Saints, and for the Packers – it could be a classic “trap” game.

The Minnesota Vikings proved last week that this offense is definitely a work in progress, no matter who plays quarterback. The Vikings lost 17-3 to Detroit last week and in the process the Lions defense gave rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a taste of reality. Bridgewater may have a bright future ahead of him, and if he does, he needs to learn how to get over performances like he had last Sunday. Bridgewater finished the day being sacked 8 times, throwing 3 interceptions and completing 23 of 37 passes at an average of 5.1 yards an attempt.

Offensive coordinator Norv Turner couldn’t get much from his running game last week and the story on Cordarrelle Patterson is that his lack of touches is a result from him not understanding the playbook correctly. Nothing is going right in Minnesota at the moment and now they go against another team in Buffalo, who knows how to get to the quarterback and stop the run. The Bills are second in the league with 19 sacks and number one in the league in rush defense only allowing 67.5 yards per game.

This game should be another low scoring Vikings affair. Minnesota will become one dimensional early in the game while Buffalo will find success against this run defense which will leave for a lot of one-on-one coverages for the young wideouts Sammy Watkins and Robert Woods.

The Green Bay Packers are 4-2 after six weeks and are hoping that the NFL notion of being a “pass-happy” league will hold true for their sake. In a “pass-happy” NFL, the Packers’ last ranked rush defense which allows 154.5 yards a game and it’s 94.8 yards of rushing offense per game, wouldn’t seem so important. Their offense was supposed to display a more balanced approach this season, thanks to second year running back Eddie Lacy but so far, that hasn’t been the case. Lacy averaged a little over 50 yards a game while rushing for under 4 yards a carry. To the Packers credit they are trying to be consistent with a running game and Lacy’s 80 carries thus far prove that.

Green Bay welcomes in a Carolina Panthers defense that is a far cry from last year’s team. The Panthers are giving up over 390 yards a game on defense, which is only about 20 yards more than what Green Bay is giving up, but Green Bay has an aerial attack, where the Panthers have Cam Newton, a wish and a prayer.

Although Newton has been hampered by injuries this season limiting his mobility, his pocket awareness and accuracy have improved because of this. In the long run, Cam not having mobility for one season may actually make him a better quarterback down the line but currently the offense is a mess. Carolina is one of the few teams in the league that cannot take advantage of this Green Bay run defense which will force Cam to go early and often into the secondary of Green Bay’s defense which is their clear strength.

Expect Aaron Rodgers who currently has a touchdown-interception ratio of 15:1 to have his way with Carolina and continue to put up numbers for an MVP caliber season.

It’s hard to believe, but the Bears are 3-3 and yet to win a game at home. They hope to change that as they welcome in the Miami Dolphins who’s lost last week to Green Bay included back to back plays of a fake spike followed by a touchdown pass – courtesy of Aaron Rodgers.

The Miami Dolphins have been without their number one back Knowshon Moreno for most of the season, but news came out today that Moreno will be out for the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury which means the load will remain on Lamar Miller who brings along with his 3 rushing touchdowns, his three lost fumbles. Wide receiver Mike Wallace has fumbled twice and quarterback Ryan Tannehill has thrown 5 interceptions and has fumbled twice himself. Why, this sudden obsession with fumbles? The Chicago Bears are now two seasons removed from coach Lovie Smith, but one thing that has remained from Smith is the art of stripping the ball. Bears rookie cornerback Kyle Fuller, seems to be learning from the sideline coaching he’s receiving from the injured veteran, Charles Tillman. Fuller has already forced 3 fumbles and has 3 interceptions this season – and just for good measure, the rookie is leading all Bears defensive players in tackles with 50.

Last week Jay Cutler came under heavy criticism for his poor decision making in the pocket and he responded by having one of the best passing performances of his career. Cutler seized the opportunity against a week Atlanta Falcons defense and threw for 381 yards. For the first time this season Alshon Jeffrey and Brandon Marshall both had over 100 yards receiving and seemed to resembled the fearsome wideout tandem that dominated all of last year. Matt Forte got off to a slow start this season but in the last two weeks has picked up his play considerably. This week though – his blocking, not his receiving or rushing will be key for this Bears offense as they go up against an underrated Miami Dolphins defense.

Bears’ defensive end Willie Young was the defensive signing that received the least hype, but he is turning out to be their biggest threat off the line of scrimmage. Young has 7 sacks this season and has been playing well against the outside run, which will be key because Lamar Miller is the kind of back that wants to work in open space rather than run up the middle.

Last Sunday, the Lions played without star wide receiver Calvin Johnson and they muscled their way to 17-3 win over the Vikings. Matthew Stafford had some struggles during the game, but lucky for him, the Vikings are a struggle all their own. . .

Unfortunately for Stafford and the Lions, it looks like “Megatron” will sit this one out as well, but they will have running back Reggie Bush back in the lineup who gets to go against his former team, the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints are so far one of the more disappointing teams this year. Quarterback Drew Brees and his band of Gold and Black were considered by most to be an NFC favorite but have looked nothing short of flat, on both sides of the ball. The Saints still air out the ball to the tune of 314 yards per game, but Drew Brees has uncharacteristically thrown 6 interceptions already. This week Brees is without his top target, tight-end Jimmy Graham, so expect him to rely on Marquis Coltson and rookie Brandin Cooks to carry the load. The problem with that is Detroit’s defense unit allows under 200 passing yards a game and now that they don’t have to worry about Brees’ top target, things can possibly get worse for the Saints.

Matthew Stafford will rely a lot on his two backs Reggie Bush and Joique Bell to carry the load against a Saints defense that allows over 110 yards on the ground per game. Stafford has to have more trust in his rookie tight end Eric Ebron and free agent signing Golden Tate, to establish this passing attack in Calvin Johnson’s absence. Johnson may be gone till week 10 so it’s time for Stafford to act like the quarterback he’s being paid to be.

It seems that after quarterback Aaron Rodgers told the Green Bay faithful to “R-E-L-A-X,” the Packers have got some of their “mojo” back. The Packers’ last two games were against divisional foes the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings, the Packers beat both teams with a combined score of 80-27. In those two games, Rodgers has thrown at about a 75% completion rate and has tossed six touchdowns. Even running back Eddie Lacy showed signs of a pulse last week, rushing for 2 touchdowns and 105 yards.

Green Bay’s rush defense was a big reason for concern while matched up against the Vikings, but the Packers D Line helped keep both young Vikings’ backs combined for under a hundred rushing yards. As the Packers fly into Miami for their week 6 match up against the Dolphins, things don’t necessarily become harder for the Pack.

The Miami Dolphins are still a team caught in what seems to be a 4 year transition. The doubt is settling in on quarterback Ryan Tannehill being the long term answer, and they’ve been without their running back Knowshon Moreno since week three. Lamar Miller has been filling in for Moreno and although he has two lost fumbles, he has averaged 5.7 yards a carry. All signs are pointing to Moreno coming back this week which will be a huge help, not just to the running game, but in the passing game as well. Moreno’s return will be more than welcoming to a struggling Ryan Tannehill, who lacks the time behind this offensive line to even attempt the deep ball – so expect “check-downs-a-plenty” in the direction of Knowshon.

Miami has one of the league’s best pass rushers in Cameron Wake, but even Wake will find out how elusive and elite the footwork of Aaron Rodgers can be, even while playing behind an offensive line that isn’t playing to his standards.

The Bears go into Atlanta and it must feel like they are looking into a mirror. Both teams have high-powered offenses with a great one-two punch at the receiver position and both teams have defenses that leave their respective fan-bases shaking their heads.

For the Bears, it was supposed to be different. The additions along the front line of Jared Allen, Willie Young and Lamaar Houston were supposed to have an immediate positive impact but it just looks like a slight upgrade from what they had last season. The Bears have now dropped two games in a row in which they came out flat in the second half. Jay Cutler has even displayed some of the “Bad Jay Cutler” antics we all thought were behind him in Trestman’s system. The Bears need to rack up wins after gift-wrapping games they could’ve won (week one against Buffalo, and last week against Carolina).

Defensively Atlanta ranks at the bottom third of the league, while Chicago is somewhere between the bottom third and slightly mediocre. . . There is no doubt both teams will have the opportunity to do damage to the other’s defense whether through the air or the ground. The Bears have a slight advantage in that they do possess the previously-mentioned pass rushers and an offensive line, that even through injuries has held up pretty well. If Cutler can go back to being the 250 yards, 2 touchdown, 0 interceptions guy – the Bears should have the advantage. Even if the Bears minimize the turnovers and play good defense one should still expect Atlanta to put up their share of points on the scoreboard.

They may be mirror images of each other, and if so, it will be a battle of two 2-3 teams who will fight desperately to get their squads to a .500 record.

Prediction: Chicago 35, Atlanta 32; Better’s Pick: the Bears +3

Detroit Lions vs Minnesota Vikings (no line as of Tuesday, October 7th)

The Detroit Lions obviously didn’t watch tape of the Bears in week one. If they did, they would’ve learned a lesson from the Bears. That lesson being “Don’t let the Bills hang around – you’ll regret it in the end.” Detroit had a 14-3 lead at halftime and then gave up 14 unanswered to the Bills. Aside from the defensive lapses in the game against Buffalo the bigger story is the absence of wide receiver Calvin Johnson. Johnson has been trying to recover from an ankle injury and he has only caught three passes for 19 yards in his last two games.

Matthew Stafford without Calvin Johnson is an “average-at-best” quarterback. To be fair though, the entire offense takes a hit without Megatron in the line-up. He attracts double teams, is an able blocker in the running game and most importantly is Matthew Stafford’s security blanket. With reports now saying that Johnson is sitting this week against the Vikings, this can be a prime time for Minnesota to take advantage.

The NFC North is still up for grabs and considering the chaos that has inhabited the Vikings, give them credit for still being very much in the mix.

Teddy Bridgewater by all accounts, should be good to go against the Lions, this Sunday, and if not then Vikings fans must unwillingly rally behind Christian Ponder, once more. Against the Packers last Thursday, Ponder pretty much put to rest any notion that he may still have a chance to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. Ponder finished the game being sacked six times, threw two interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 45.8.

Maybe THIS is the week the Vikings decide to use Cordarrelle Patterson as something more than a decoy. Patterson voiced his frustrations after last week and maybe this will force the ball his way. After five weeks of games, the Lions have one of the best defenses in the league, so it’s time for the Vikings to get a little more creative on offense – no matter who starts at quarterback this week.